Dontrell Smith (born January 16, 2003), known professionally as Kidd Kenn, is an American rapper and singer from Chicago, Illinois. He rose to prominence with his singles "No Brakes" and "Moves" (featuring

Rico Nasty Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Maryland. She rose to prominence in 2018 with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin". While in high schoo ...

Early life

Dontrell Smith was born on January 16, 2003, in the Chatham neighborhood on the

South Side, Chicago The South Side is an area of Chicago, Illinois, U.S. It lies south of the city's Loop area in the downtown. Geographically, it is the largest of the three sides of the city that radiate from downtown, with the other two being the north and we ...

. He dropped out of high school during his freshman year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he moved to Los Angeles, where he took on great responsibilities, paying bills and doing everything on his own. This situation led him to start making song covers, which eventually provoked him to take his rap career seriously.

Career

Kidd Kenn's first released track, "Eriod", served as his debut commercial single, accompanied by a music video. After the success of his hit single "No Brakes", which received millions of streams across various platforms, he considered rapping as a full-time career. On August 11, 2018, Kenn released his debut mixtape, ''Childish'', featuring a guest verse from

Katie Got Bandz Kiara Johnson, also known by her stage name Katie Got Bandz (born July 22, 1993), is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois, most recognized for her song "Pop Out" featuring King L.Yohance, Kyl''All Hip Hop''. July 28, 2015. Early life Katie ...

. A year later, Smith's career began to take off with his hit singles, leading to his signing with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

. After signing a recording deal, he released his second mixtape, ''Child's Play'', in 2020. In September 2020, he released "Freestyle", featuring Delli Boe, accompanied by a music video. On June 11, 2021, he released his debut extended play, ''Problem Child''. Since then, he has collaborated with

on the song "Moves". On October 5, 2021, Kidd Kenn made history by appearing as the first gay male rapper in the BET Hip Hop Awards Rap Cypher, performing alongside Toosii,

Lakeyah Lakeyah Danaee Robinson (born February 28, 2001), known mononymously as Lakeyah, is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she began rapping at the age of 15. At 18, she moved to Atlanta and was signed to Quali ...

, Symba, and DJ Hed. On May 20, 2022, he released the song "Body" as a promotional single for his EP ''Celebrating Pride'', which later became the lead single. On June 17, 2022, Kenn released his single "At It Again", a collaboration with Belize singer Delli Boe, accompanied by a music video. On June 29, 2022, Kidd Kenn released a single titled "Want Not A Need" featuring Baby Tate. He also released an EP titled ''Celebrating Pride'' that same year. After the release, he went on to release another extended play titled ''Grown'' in July 2022. In August 2022, Kidd Kenn released a cover version of " Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X, lending a glamorous, feminine touch to the song. In December 2022, ''Grown'' was ranked at number 16 on The Triibe's 25 best Chicago hip hop and R&B albums of 2022. He released his fifth EP, ''Busy Being Bad'', on October 20, 2023.

Discography

Mixtapes

Extended plays

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenn, Kidd 2003 births Living people 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American rappers African-American male rappers American male rappers African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American hip hop singers Island Records artists People from Chicago Rappers from Chicago Trap musicians LGBTQ rappers LGBTQ people from Illinois